Garland's Fall
by JeremyMeerkreebs
Summary: A story about Garland's death, full of spoliers. I wrote it to help clear up the story for myself.


Garland's Fall  
  
Jeremy Meerkreebs  
  
"You are no longer needed, old man." Kuja's last words before kicking him of the side rang still in Garland's mind. A string of abuses and embarrassments led up to this. First, the Second Genome, this Zidane, defies Terra and returns to his companions, then defeats Garland with his once pitiful band of Gaian fools. Armed only with their weak weapons, magics, and Eidolons, the ragtag band of men, Burmecians, Qus, and clones disabled Garland, master of Terra, captain of the Invincible. Then, Kuja, the weakest of these great Genomes, gains his ultimate power, the power of Trance.  
  
Kuja's body reacted differently to the Trance, however. His physical form was of perfect construction, but was not meant to withstand the energies of a Trancing. His soul was not designed to Trance, but he took Garland's, the fool. The Trance granted him the greatest spell known to lifekind, Ultima. But the Trance had its ill effects. It warped his body, and changed his mind. His hair turned blood red and matted, and covered most of his form. He even lost his control of his tail, which grew out immediately, larger than normal. His soul, unused to the power it gained, refused to let go of it.  
  
The Trance would be permanent.  
  
His mind would not be able to withstand such stupefying power. It would quickly drive him mad. Where once he was narcissistic yet insecure about his power, he will now be uncontrollably superior, resulting in delusions of grandeur. He will fancy himself a god.  
  
Garland continued to fall, down, down, down to the surface of Terra. All around him, the blue crystalline stalks used for the Bran Bal Genome training facility changed gradually to the native red of Terra. He heard the voice of Kuja, faint in the distance, rat about his eternal empire. Garland, reaching terminal velocity, decided to try one last gambit.  
  
Nothing you build will ever be eternal, Kuja! Thought Garland to his Genome once-minion.  
  
Kuja froze for the first time in his life. Garland could feel the fear that recoiled behind his eyes. "What do you mean, old man?" And Garland explained.  
  
The power gem was inserted into Garland's chest cavity, completing the magnificent creation. Instantly born into age, Garland awoke, stood, and began to take care of his duties. His creators, wearied by their manufacturing duties, returned to sleep. Garland did not slumber. He never would be granted sweet repose. He was created to work, and hard work was in store for Terra.  
  
His first duty was to create Bran Bal, or "Vessel Shelter". He chose to place it high in the crystal stalks, where it would be simple to radiate the blue that is Gaia, without affecting the sleep chambers of his people. It was imperative Bran Bal was blue, for though the Terrans could rest for millennia in the red fortress of Pandemona, the Genomes would cross over to Terra's prey-planet. They needed to accustom themselves to Gaia's blue light.  
  
Then Garland began the cloning of the first Genomes. At first, he shaped them like short round humanoids, totally black so as to absorb as much blue light as possible during their growth stage. He scrapped them quickly however, as they seemed too physically weak to withstand the rigors of soul implantation. He saved their blueprint, however. Perhaps, if bundled up in much clothing to protect against blue light, they could be created quickly and cheaply as foot soldiers to help the true Genomes disrupt the flow of souls in Gaia.  
  
Garland fell even further. He saw Pandemona as a rapidly diminishing blur in the distance. His black armor might be enough to keep him from crushing on impact with the ground, but it wouldn't prevent an almost certainly fatal internal wound.  
  
Through Zidane's eyes, Garland saw what was happening. Kuja, showing obvious fear at what he dreaded would come. Behind Zidane were the seven Gaians: Adelbert Steiner, Garnet til Alexandros, Eiko Carol, Amarant Coral, Freya of Burmecia, Quina Quen, and Vivi Orniter, the Black Mage who already knew and accepted the secret Kuja dreaded. You were only meant to last until Zidane took your place, Kuja. Your time in this world is short.  
  
Garland walked past crowds of soulless to the basement laboratory of Bran Bal. There stood three tanks. Their labels: I, II, III. Respectively they were named Kuja, Zidane, and Mikoto.  
  
They stood at three stages of development: Kuja full grown, Zidane a fetus-like toddler, and Mikoto, barely visible with the naked eye. The all would look the same, except for a slight genetic malfunction in Kuja causing white hair instead of blond. But this was acceptable for a mere prototype. Zidane was the true pride of this project. Kuja would do preliminary disruption work on Gaia, while Zidane would finally activate the Iifa Tree an give the last Gaian soul to the last Terran Genome.  
  
Kuja was quickly dumped from the tank, dressed, and sent to the entry to Terra. Already knowing his mission, he was finally briefed by Garland in the lab. The unfinished Zidane watched with a seeming intellect.  
  
Garland hit the ground with a sickening crunch.  
  
I was created for one purpose, thought Garland, the restoration of Terra. Kuja fought his fate. Zidane abandoned it. I simply failed it. He would assist Zidane in defeating Kuja with his last hours. Perhaps the Iifa Tree will complete it's mission and mine, perhaps not. One of us might win, he contemplated, or none of us.  
  
But life must go on. 


End file.
